Best Friend Sort of Love
by leighbenz9000
Summary: As Percy gets more and more wrong, Annabeth gets more and more willing to follow him anywhere. Oneshot, Percabeth AU. Rated K plus.


Annabeth toes the edge of the water. She's not scared of swimming. She's not scared of anything, really. Well, besides the big, furry spider that always seems to be lurking in her shower curtains. She's doesn't tell people about that though, because her dad always fights them off and tells her she'll grow out of it.

But the ocean just looks so big and deep. She knows she's a strong swimmer—her swim teacher promoted her to _Dolphin _level last week—but she always does swim lessons in the pool and the ocean is really different. Annabeth would never admit it, but she's unsure about what could be hiding under the waves. She knows there are crabs, and those are sort of like giant spiders, right?

A boy nearby runs up to her and grabs her hand like they're best friends. She thinks it's kind of weird and she's about to tell him that he has seaweed coming out of his ear, but he asks her why she isn't swimming and Annabeth automatically gets defensive. She tries to stutter out an excuse but he grins at her with a smile that's worth a million bucks and launches into a long list about what he loves about the beach.

His mind is working so fast that he trips over his words, but he looks so genuinely happy that Annabeth doesn't try to correct him. He concludes with how he loves how the sand feels in between his toes. He wiggles his toes for effect. Annabeth does too, and she admits that it feels kind of funny.

The boy then drops her hand and face plants into the water, disappearing between the swells. Annabeth backs up, immediately concerned that something happened to him, but he resurfaces a minute later with even more seaweed on his head. He tells her she should come in; he tells her to trust him. He promises she'll have fun.

Annabeth knows he's right but is too scared to follow him into the water.

* * *

It's the first day of third grade and Annabeth is the only one who's excited. All the other kids look nervous, but she's not— third grade means she's a big girl because her classroom is upstairs now. She sits in the front of the room and is organizing her pencils in her desk. Annabeth is really happy because they're mechanical, so she doesn't have to sharpen them anymore. When she looks up, there's someone in the seat next to her.

She recognizes him as the boy she played with at the beach a few summers ago. She's about to say hi, even though she's not completely sure he'll remember her.

He beats her to it, waving at her like they were never separated. He asks if she remembers him and she says yes, because she does. Of course she does. He then asks her if she's still scared of swimming at the beach to which she shrugs and says she doesn't even remember that she didn't go in the water with him.

He rolls his eyes at her, and they're shocking blue-green. Annabeth gets disgruntled because she can't exactly describe the color. Her mind ranges over everything from emerald to turquoise (a new color that she learned), but nothing seems to fit. She supposes that maybe the teachers forgot to teach her that color in kindergarten or something like that.

The boy introduces himself as Percy, blushing slightly as he says his name. She quirks an eyebrow and asks him how to spell it. Percy replies with "I-T," looking all proud that he didn't fall for the joke. Annabeth doesn't understand, claiming that she's pretty sure you don't spell Percy like that. Percy has to point out that she asked him to spell _it_, not _Percy_.

She guesses he's right and begrudgingly follows him to his backpack so he can look for his pencil sharpener.

* * *

There is nothing worse than spiders, Annabeth is sure of it now. Even though they're certainly not old enough, let alone even _thirteen _like the rating said was a suitable age for people to watch the movie, Percy convinces her that watching the second Harry Potter movie is a good idea.

Annabeth is horrified, because that movie contains lots of spiders. Big spiders. She spends most of the time with her head in Percy's shoulder, much to his amusement.

A few hours after the movie, they're playing and he grins at her, looks alarmed, and tells her that there's a giant spider behind her. Annabeth gives a shriek, and Percy grabs her hand and yanks her into the makeshift fort they made. He tells her not to be scared because he'll fight off the spiders for her. It sort of reminds Annabeth of something that her father used to say to her when she was little. But come to think of it, he hasn't been fighting off many spiders for her recently. She hasn't even really seen him much recently.

Percy ducks his head out of the fort, tells her he'll be right back, and grabs a toy sword. She laughs to herself as he pretends he's Harry Potter, fighting off the spiders for her. His shadow dances around the side of the fort, as Percy does a series of ridiculous spins and twirls and jabs. Annabeth knows that they're a bit too old to be playing this game, but that doesn't bother her.

Annabeth goes over to Percy's house nearly every day. At first Annabeth is worried because she thinks Sally, Percy's mom, will get annoyed. But Percy tells her not to worry because Sally is like the mom Annabeth never had. He says it gently every time, to make her feel better. It does.

Annabeth and Percy have a nice group of friends—Rachel, Thalia, Grover, Luke, Nico, and some others. But Percy and Annabeth spend more time with each other than anyone else. Percy always tells Annabeth that he's her best friend.

As she watches him pretend to save her from inside the fort—he only trips _once_ on one of the pillows— she thinks that Percy might just be onto something. Eventually he tells her that the coast is clear, and Annabeth pretends to be not so sure. He grabs her hand again and pulls her out of the fort.

* * *

All the kids are talking about how they're going to get Christmas trees over the weekend, and it makes Annabeth a little jealous. She never gets a Christmas tree at her house.

Percy joins in on their conversation and it makes Annabeth feel even worse because she's positive now that she's the _only _one in the entire middle school who doesn't really celebrate the holidays.

She mentions to Percy that she doesn't understand why everyone is so excited, and Percy gives her an incredulous look as a response. He asks if she has ever gone to cut down a Christmas tree with her family and she admits that no, she hasn't. He invites her over that weekend to go Christmas tree shopping with him and his mom, and Annabeth is secretly overjoyed.

Before she knows it they're all in the car, driving to wherever you can chop down Christmas trees. Annabeth isn't really sure, but she imagines it as a giant field with Christmas trees popping out of the ground. She imagines families gathered around the trees, singing and holding hands like in the movies. It's kind of a funny sight in her head.

By the looks of it, Percy is overly excited. He's sitting next to her, bobbing his knee up and down impatiently like a little kid— well—on Christmas morning. To add to his holiday spirit, a Christmas carol comes onto the radio and Annabeth winces as Percy starts singing along, shimmying his shoulders and wailing in a very off-pitch voice. He pokes her side, telling her to join in. She shakes her head, refusing because she doesn't know all the words. She's a good singer too, and she knows it, but she's determined to never let Percy find that out.

Annabeth thinks it's funny how two people, so blatantly opposite, can be best friends. But she couldn't ask for anyone better than Percy, she doesn't think such a person exists.

She watches with genuine happiness as Percy cuts down the tree, rolls her eyes as he boasts about how big and strong he is. Annabeth tells him that she can literally see his head getting larger and Percy tells her that she's lucky then, because his face is really attractive. Annabeth sticks out her tongue at him. He does the same to her.

Percy invites her to decorate the tree with them, and Annabeth naturally says yes. Sally and Percy have a huge box of ornaments, slightly dusty from their stay in the basement. Percy hands her the last one, a big blue sphere, and he tells her it's his favorite. She smiles because it's pretty, and since it's Percy's favorite she thinks it could be hers too. She likes the ribbon that it's on the most.

He tells her that as a guest, she should do the honors of putting the last ornament on the tree. Annabeth is excited—she's so excited that it slips out of her hands, and she watches in horror as it shatters on the wooden floor.

She's speechless. She says she's so sorry. She says it again. He gives her a big hug and tells her not to worry about it. She still worries. He squeezes her tighter and she can't help but notice how he smells like pinewood—like Christmas. His shoulders are so broad now that she can barely get her arms around him, and she feels one of his hands against her back. He has big hands now. And big shoulders. Annabeth thinks that's maybe why he's so good at cutting down Christmas trees.

Percy gives her the ribbon to make her feel better, and tells her that she can use it as a bookmark. Percy's willingness to forgive her so easily makes her feel even worse. He tells her again that _seriously, it's not a big deal_. He tells her that she's family and he could never be mad.

A tiny part of Annabeth believes him. They go to the kitchen together to throw out the broken shards.

* * *

Annabeth has never seen someone so bad at history in her entire life.

Granted, she doesn't love history either, but at least she knows that Galileo was born in the fifteen hundreds, not the eighteen hundreds like Percy wrote on his last test.

He gives her a bashful look when he admits that he didn't read the textbook. She says she can tell, based on his less-than-stellar performance over the past few weeks. He flashes her his signature puppy dog eyes, and claims that it's hard for him to read because of his dyslexia.

Annabeth rolls her eyes at the excuse because she knows for a fact that his dyslexia has gotten much more manageable. Still, she invites herself over to his house that afternoon for a history study session.

A few hours later, Annabeth is lounging on Percy's bed, her head on his pillows. His head is in her lap and she absentmindedly plays with his hair as she reads the textbook out loud to him. His hair is soft, and feels nice in between her fingers. He hums quietly the entire time and she can feel the vibrations throughout his chest. Unlike Percy's dyslexia, his singing hasn't gotten any better, but Annabeth doesn't mind.

After reading for a solid hour, she tells Percy to sit up so she can test him on what she just read. He does so obligingly, and Annabeth teases him because his sweatshirt is too small for him, and it's riding up so she can see his stomach.

Percy is getting big now. Really big. And in a good way. Annabeth tells him that he needs to go shopping for clothes that fit him. He agrees, and claims this is an old sweatshirt that he should probably throw out. She tells him that that's too bad, because it's a good color on him. He gives it to her. He says it goes even better with her eyes.

Percy then goes on to tell her that the Aristotle was born in 384 BC—see? He can remember dates! —and then informs her that it's enough studying for one day.

Annabeth's mind is blank, and she can't tell for the life of her if Percy is right or not. Nevertheless, she gives him a winning smile and pulls him out the door for some of his mom's amazing blue cookies.

* * *

Percy threatens to punch the next kid who mentions Percabeth. Because that's a thing now, apparently. All their friends talk about it; in fact, it's all they mention whenever they see Annabeth and Percy together. Annabeth is really annoyed because she has honestly never consciously thought about Percy like that before. Now she has, which makes her really confused.

She hears it in the halls on the way to class and afterschool, when she tries to hang out with Percy. The Percabeth comments are everywhere and they make Annabeth so angry. Percy puts up an angry front because he knows it bothers her so much. He tells the other highschoolers that make Percabeth jokes to mind their own business. He says it nicely, of course. Too nicely, in Annabeth's opinion.

He asks her about it one day as he drives her home from school— about why she gets so upset when people try to pair them. His cheeks are kind of flushed when he asks, and his eyes are sparkling in a way Annabeth can't really understand. She bites her bottom lip and searches for an answer, but she doesn't really have one.

She makes up some excuse about people being too nosy for their own good.

His next question catches her off guard, because he asks her if she likes someone else instead. She and Percy have never talked about that sort of thing before, but he's her best friend and it shouldn't be uncomfortable. Yet, she can't for the life of her explain why her heart jumps in her throat, why her toes curl in her shoes and her palms get all sticky.

He sees her expression in the mirror and says he knew it, that there _must _be someone else. She spits out the first name she can think of, Luke, because she doesn't know what else to say. Plus, that's not completely a lie. Luke isn't bad looking at all.

_But he's not Percy, _a voice in the back of her head thinks.

Percy's smile falters for a second, but it's back as quickly as it left. He turns to Annabeth, the light still strong in his eyes. He says it's sort of funny that people think they could ever like each other like that. He says they love each other, but it's the _family _type of love.

Annabeth's heart does this sort of swooping thing in her chest she's never felt before. But it's not a pleasant feeling at all, more like impending dread.

She thinks he's sort of wrong that they could never like each other like that, and they sit silently for the rest of the ride as he takes her home.

* * *

There's a swim meet today. It's Percy's first one and he's terrified. Annabeth reassures him over and over not to be worried. She's fairly certain that if Percy doesn't do well, no one will. She doesn't think anyone can swim better than him.

He's a bundle of nerves all day, tapping incessantly on anything he can touch, rubbing the back of his neck, unable to focus on his work. He randomly hugs Annabeth three times, pressing her head against his chest and not letting go. Percy still smells like Christmas, just like he did when he was little. A part of Annabeth wonders if his lips would taste like Christmas too.

She's so appalled at that thought that she avoids Percy for the rest of the day.

She can't miss the swim meet though, so she meets up with Rachel to go watch. They sit in the front row; Rachel wearing red and white face paint, celebrating the school colors, and Annabeth with a bag of blue cookies that Percy's mom made for when he finishes.

The team comes out and Annabeth is nervous for Percy. She can tell he's nervous too—he's still rubbing the back of his neck.

He gets into the water. The horn goes off. He swims. She screams so loudly her throat hurts.

He wins.

He comes out of the water, flicks his hair to the side. It's like out of one of those movies. He looks up at the crowd applauding him, and his eyes find hers. Out of everyone, he looks at her.

Her.

He gives Annabeth a playful wink, the sort of type you give a friend when you're joking. Annabeth knows that somewhere, but it doesn't register in her head. Her cheeks get weirdly hot and she's thankful she's far enough away for Percy to not notice her blush.

Everyone is cheering for him; the team tells him that he's their hero. Annabeth is shocked at the jealousy that spikes through her because—hey—he has always been _her _hero. He fights off spiders for _her_.

Which when she realizes how much she actually likes him.

She sees him later that day, and she congratulates him. She tells him she knew he could do it all along. He tells her that she's always right, and she nods in agreement. She was right about him being perfect. She was right about him being amazing at swimming. And she's pretty sure she's right about how she feels about him.

Annabeth reminds him not to let his head get _too _big again, but Percy is humble and shrugs it off, saying that anyone could have done it.

Annabeth isn't so sure about that. She gives him the cookies and tells him he better well share with the support team. He out goes with her and Rachel to eat them.

* * *

Rachel appears too often when Annabeth and Percy are together. It sort of annoys Annabeth. One minute she'll be alone with Percy and the next Rachel will be there.

Percy doesn't share Annabeth's annoyance. In fact, he even seems kind of _happy _when Rachel comes around. He starts saying and doing things to her that have always been reserved for Annabeth. He sticks his tongue out at her. He winks at her in that ridiculous _Percy _kind of way that makes Annabeth want to punch a wall. He even pokes Rachel when she's frowning and—_hey_—it has always been Annabeth's job to roll her eyes when he does that.

The worst part is his eyes. The light that's always been shining for Annabeth alone shines for Rachel too. Annabeth swears it's not as strong, but a tiny voice in the back of her head whispers otherwise.

Rachel is pretty. Really pretty. She has long legs and freckled shoulders. She wears clothes that show off her skin, but don't come across as overexposing. She has big green eyes and her hair frames her face nicely, not like Annabeth's mess of tangled curls.

Plus, Rachel's the happy one. The artistic and creative one. Rachel smiles all the time, especially when she's around Percy. Annabeth smiles less.

Annabeth still goes over to Percy's house all the time because they're still best friends. She tries to convince herself that that's enough, that she doesn't need anything more than that. She has Percy's hugs, his funny faces, his best friend love. She knows she can still be happy because Percy always has time for her. He's not any worse of a friend just because he likes Rachel; they still go to the beach together, and they still decorate the Christmas tree together every year. And Annabeth refuses to be a kicked puppy about this. She thinks she's stupid for ever thinking she and Percy could be anything more than friends.

Annabeth still grumbles when he says something stupid. He still brings her blue cookies. She calls him Seaweed Brain. He calls her Wise Girl.

Nothing changes.

It makes her a little sad, because all of that just isn't _enough_ anymore, though she wishes desperately that it were. Best friend love sucks.

Annabeth is studying at Percy's house one day, and Percy is on his phone texting. He looks up, flushes, and remarks seemingly out of nowhere that the Percabeth comments have stopped. He flashes Annabeth a smile, and says that she must be happy because he certainly is.

Annabeth tosses her hair over her shoulder, completely uncharacteristic for herself, and mumbles something incoherent. Percy asks her what's wrong, because he has known her long enough to recognize the strained crease between her eyes. She gives him a fake grin. He knows it's forced.

She insists there's nothing wrong and Percy doesn't push her because he knows she'll come around if she wants to. Instead, he offers to go down the street for frozen yogurt. Annabeth knows he hates frozen yogurt, and that he's just trying to make her feel better but he says it nicely, without patronizing sympathy or concern in his voice, and Annabeth is grateful.

The truth is, Annabeth disagrees with Percy, and ironically she wishes the Percabeth jokes would come back. She walks out the door, and Percy follows. They walk down the street together in silence. It's a comfortable sort of quietness, because they just understand each other. It's the sort of silence that's only comfortable between friends. Best friends.

* * *

Percy has a date for prom. It's not Annabeth. It's Rachel. Percy is so excited with getting ready—with making sure he has a nice suit, making sure his hair is brushed, making sure his car is clean. His chatter is relentless, which Annabeth knows is because he's really excited. He has always done that when he's excited. He still trips over his words when he talks, the same habit he has had since he was little. Annabeth thinks it's kind of cute, though she tells him to calm down or else he'll talk his head off, and she jokes that Rachel won't be too happy with a headless date. Percy lights up when she says that word, and Annabeth prays to any god that will listen that her face isn't getting red.

He meets her eyes, looking slightly uncertain and mostly jittery in his suit. She fixes his collar affectionately because it's sticking up in the back, and he asks her with the most solemn expression he can muster how he looks. Annabeth laughs nervously, because in her opinion he looks amazing, but she jokes that he's missing some seaweed on his head. He laughs, knowing, and tells her he'll take that wise, wise piece of advice into account. She ruffles his hair slightly because she personally likes it better that way, and he accuses her of messing up his _look_ in playful horror.

Annabeth can't stand being around him for much longer, and tells him he should get going because he shouldn't keep Rachel waiting. He gives her a dazed smile which she wishes more than anything in the world was for her, and tells her that he doesn't have to leave just yet. He tells her that he wants to spend all the time he possibly can with his best friend so that the day is as perfect as it can be. Annabeth feels every emotion between delirious happiness and anguish because Percy always seems to know the best and worst thing to say.

He looks her up and down, and she's wearing jeans and his sweatshirt. Her chest swells with a sort of sickening sadness; she chose the sweater because she wears it whenever she wants to be closer to Percy. He tells her that if it counts for anything, she looks better than he does right now. She slaps his arm playfully, but Percy sees right through it. He sees the sadness in her eyes.

He thinks she's upset because she didn't get asked to prom so to make her feel better, he tells her that Luke is really missing out by taking Thalia instead. It kills Annabeth because he still thinks she likes Luke.

And to add to Annabeth's despair, he tells her that if things don't work out with him and Rachel, he'll be sure to take her to prom next year. He says he knows she'll look beautiful. He says that any guy would be thrilled to have her as a prom date.

Annabeth thinks he's wrong, and follows him out the door so she can tell Rachel how pretty she looks.

* * *

Neither Percy nor Annabeth envision their first kiss to be an accident. But when it happens it's so completely random, so ridiculously stupid that Annabeth thinks it's pretty much as close to perfection as a moment can get.

It happens on a study day. It starts off normal, like the other countless study sessions they've had together. But that day, they decide to watch a movie because Annabeth is going to college and so is Percy. They only have so many of these history sessions left.

Annabeth tells Percy it's only fitting that they watch Harry Potter, and Percy insists that the movie experience is just not complete without a snack. He goes downstairs to make some popcorn and Annabeth is leafing through the history textbook on the floor because she'll have a heart attack if it isn't at least opened once the entire time.

When Percy bursts back into the room, he has a gleeful expression on his face, and Annabeth tries to replicate it. She doesn't fret about how she's going to school in Chicago and he's staying in New York. She wants to enjoy today.

He sees that she chose Harry Potter and is so excited that he runs over to join her on the ground. Annabeth is about to tell him to be careful— he's carrying a giant bowl of popcorn in one hand and two sodas in the other—but she can barely get the words out before she watches him trip over a pillow on the floor.

The popcorn goes flying. So do the sodas. So does Percy.

Perhaps it's fate. Perhaps it's their destiny. Most likely it's just Percy being a klutz, but he lands right on top of Annabeth.

She swears his mouth fits perfectly with hers, and she thinks that he doesn't taste like Christmas. He tastes like popcorn. He probably ate some while he was making it. Annabeth thinks that's even better than Christmas.

Percy sits up, blinking. Blushing.

All Annabeth can think is, _how fitting, it's the same pillow he tripped over last time we watched Harry Potter_, before his lips press against hers again.

She's not sure how long they spend kissing, but she knows that not a lot of movie-watching gets done. Yet it's everything Annabeth could have wanted and more. She loves the way his lips feel against hers. She loves the way her heart stirs in her chest and the way he touches her cheek gently. But Annabeth loves it the most for the emotional intimacy more than anything. It proves that they _can _love each other a little differently than the best friend sort of love.

They're covered in popcorn. Annabeth has a bruise from Percy crashing into her. The situation far from normal, but Annabeth tells Percy that _of course _something like this would happen to them.

Percy tells her that he's the luckiest guy in the world for tripping.

Annabeth disagrees. She thinks that this would have happened anyway. By the time they clean up the popcorn off the floor together, it's cold.

* * *

Annabeth misses Percy's hair in between her fingers. She misses sand in between her toes. She keeps the Harry Potter books on her dorm shelf, with her ribbon bookmark stuck in the second one, because that's her favorite. Annabeth wears Percy's sweatshirt when she's going through what she calls _Percy withdrawal_, and she buys a few Christmas carols for her iPod, even though it's March.

They talk as much as they can, and they manage. They both miss each other a lot, but when the see each other during college breaks or the summer, it's like they never left.

Percy becomes an Environmental and Wildlife Conservationist. Annabeth becomes a doctor. Percy calls Annabeth one day to tell her he might need medical attention because he's lovesick.

Annabeth hangs up on him but doesn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. She thinks back to prom. Back to endless study sessions. Back to lazy days spent at Percy's or tired rides home from school. She thinks of the family she spent her first real Christmas with. She thinks of the boy who took her hand at the beach without a care in the world. She thinks she's in love with this boy.

They see each other once they graduate. Percy says nothing is different.

Annabeth thinks a lot is different. First of all, while their futures are unclear, Annabeth is sure of one thing. And that's Percy. Secondly, Percy tells her he likes frozen yogurt now, because he ate it a lot this past year when he was going through _Annabeth withdrawal_. The store is still just at the end of his street. They go together.

* * *

Annabeth and Percy move into an apartment together. There's another big, furry spider that likes to hide in her shower curtains. She hasn't grown out of that fear yet, and as much as Percy teases her about it, she knows he thinks it's cute. On one hand that frustrates her, but on the other hand she likes the way he looks at her when she flies out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, screaming about how her terror is rationalized by her theory that giant spiders the size of houses probably roamed the Earth at one point in the history of the world.

He smiles at her, and his eyes light up like she's the best thing in the world. He looks at her like she's not a disheveled, half-crazed mess about to go into the shower. He looks at her like she's a goddess, and that would usually make Annabeth uncomfortable but it doesn't because it's _Percy._ And it's not once, or twice, or even three times. Percy gives her that look every time.

Without saying a single teasing or mean word, Percy goes to find the source of the commotion. Even after all these years, Annabeth can't help but feel a little woozy when he does, though she credits it to shower steam getting to her brain.

He comes back out of the bathroom with a triumphant grin, which he has every time so Annabeth knows that the damn creature probably got away and Percy is pretending he killed it so she's not scared. He kisses the top of her curly head and tells her the same thing he tells her every time; that she shouldn't worry because spiders are more afraid of people than people are afraid of spiders.

She's pretty sure he's wrong, but follows him into the bathroom so he can prove the spider is gone.

* * *

They're planning their honeymoon together. They did it. After all this time Annabeth can finally agree that they _do _love each other in the sort of family way, because they're really family now… and definitely just a little bit more.

Percy tells her that they should go to Greece on their honeymoon because that's where Aristotle was born in 348 BC.

Annabeth knows for certain this time that he's wrong—Aristotle was born in 384 BC—, but she agrees because she's willing to follow him anywhere.

* * *

**A/N: Here ya go! Wrote this in a day, and I incorporated a tiny bit of Christmas for the holidays. Hopefully it makes your day a little better because, honestly, you can never have too much Percabeth :)**


End file.
